The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is one of the largest competitions for young artists and writers in the world. The competition has been around since 1923 and has recognized famous artists and writers in the past such as Sylvia Plath, Andy Warhol, Joyce Carol Oates, and Stephen King. In 2018, they had more than 350,000 submissions. For the 2019 awards, some Academic Magnet students entered their work in the competition. The results for the regional level of the competition were released on Friday, February 1, 2019, and listed below are the awards that Academic Magnet students received in the competition.

Works that received Gold Keys were considered to be the very best works submitted to regional programs and will automatically be considered for national recognition. Silver Key works were standouts submitted to regional programs that demonstrated exceptional ability. Honorable Mentions were accomplished works submitted to regional programs showing great skill and potential. In total, AMHS students received 7 Gold Keys, 3 Silver Keys, and 7 Honorable Mentions. The results for national medalists will be released by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards on March 13, 2019.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards includes many different categories from poetry to painting to dramatic script to design. Students can submit their work to the competition beginning in 7th grade and can continue to enter through 12th grade. The Art Portfolio and Writing Portfolio are categories which are only open to high school seniors. At the national level, eight seniors for art and eight for writing will receive Gold Medals and a $10,000 scholarship. Fifteen in each category will receive a Silver Medal with Distinction and a $1,000 scholarship, and some may also receive Silver Medals. Adriana Carter (12) received a regional Gold Key for her Writing Portfolio titled “Mosaics of the People We Used to Be” and will move on to national judging for a chance to win a national medal and scholarship money. Students from all categories who receive national Gold Medals will also have the chance to go to New York City for the awards ceremony.

The pieces that AMHS students submitted to Scholastic ranged from a number of different topics. Ishraq Haque (10) said that his personal essay “Thoughts of a Man” which received a Gold Key was “about the untimely death of my grandfather along with my thoughts and experiences with him.”(11) Gold Key poem “The Problems within the Education System: a Sestina” was about the serious issues in the education and prison systems. “I’m in an abolitionist organization,”  explained, “and over the past two years, I’ve learned so much about how sucky the prison industrial complex and school systems really are. was “super surprised” to receive her Gold Key, and said that she “didn’t expect it at all.” Allison Li (11) has been entering works into Scholastic since she was in 7th grade, and this year was the first time she submitted anything art-related. She was surprised to receive her Gold Key for an original design of the Life of Pi book cover. “I’ve been creating book covers for a while, but I’ve never taken myself very seriously as a ‘designer’,” Allison explained. Her design incorporates Pi on his boat into a more abstract interpretation of a tiger. Her short story “The Girl and Her Ocean” reinterprets love in the lens of nature with a girl who lives in a lighthouse and falls in love with the ocean. 

Scholastic Results:

Abby Bonner – 12th Grade

Silver Key – Dramatic script – Second Chances

Honorable Mention – Poetry – Dying

Adriana Carter – 12th Grade

Gold Key – Poetry – Self Portrait as a Dying Canary

Gold Key – Poetry – Foreign Home

Silver Key – Poetry – Almost Phantom

Honorable Mention – Poetry – The Prodigal Daughter

Honorable Mention – Poetry – One-Sided Conversation in a Madhouse

Gold Key – Writing Portfolio – Mosaics of the People We Used to Be

Sophia Discolo – 11th Grade

Honorable Mention – Poetry – where I came from

Ishraq Haque – 10th Grade

Gold Key – Personal Essay/Memoir – Thoughts of a Man

Allison Li – 11th Grade

Honorable Mention – Short Story – The Girl and Her Ocean

Gold Key – Design – Life of Pi | Book Cover Redesign

Casey Matthews – 10th Grade

Honorable Mention – Personal Essay/Memoir – The Hurricane of Us

Karoline Surdyk – 10th Grade

Gold Key – Painting – A Colorful Canal

Silver Key – Painting – Wonder

Congratulations to all those who received regional awards, and good luck to those who are in the running for national awards! If you see any of these students in the hallways, be sure to congratulate them on their award. Next year you may want to consider entering your art or writing for the 2020 competition. Entering your works and receiving recognition at the regional or even national level can be very rewarding, so I highly recommend submitting your work next year if you can. 

All Gold Key Art Awards: https://www.artandwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019_GoldKey_Art.pdf     

All Gold Key Writing Awards: https://www.artandwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019_GoldKey_Writing.pdf

Regional Art Awards: https://www.artandwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ARALSE-Awards-2019-Final-Posting-List.pdf

Regional Writing Awards: https://www.artandwriting.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/WRALSE-Awards-2019-Final-Posting-List.pdf